I didn’t realize what a pain it is to make bunk beds until we got them for the boys’ shared bedroom. It makes me sweat. No joke. After struggling with the beds for a while, I thought “there’s got to be a better way!” When I googled “how to make bunk beds” all I came up with were a bunch of tutorials on how to build bunk beds. Not what I was looking for.

I thought maybe something was wrong with me and possibly bunk beds were to be dressed just like a regular bed. When I read about how to properly dress a single level bed, I was in shock. WTF?! I’m supposed to iron bed sheets? You’ve got to be kidding me. Me, the girl who doesn’t even break out the iron unless there’s a wedding or a photo shoot. And all those layers of bedding – sheets, blankets, duvets, coverlets, throw blankets, pillows?? Um, that’s so not happening in my kids’ room. So, I set out to find little tricks for making bunk beds easy – or at least easier – on my own and I’m happy to share those with you today. Let’s do this.

Tip #1 Use a stool. Unless you’re 7′ tall or have go-go gadget arms, you’re gonna need a step stool. At the beginning of my bunk bed-making journey, I would get up on the top bunk and try to make it. Do you know how hard it is to make a bed that you are in? It doesn’t work. Now I keep a small stool in the boys’ bedroom just for making the bed. It’s a lifesaver.

Tip #2 Use sheet clips. From what I can tell, plastic surgery is glorified bed-making. You’re not going to get good topical results unless everything underneath is smooth. Some kids are the busiest sleepers, aren’t they? When my oldest wakes up in the morning, it looks like he’s been practicing swimming from sharks all night.

I use these bed bands to hold his fitted sheet in place. He’s on the top bunk so I can fasten them from the bottom bunk. Basically, you put one clip in each corner, grip the perpendicular sides, clip shut then adjust the tension to hold the sheet snugly. Even if you don’t have a busy sleeper on the top bunk, I’d still suggest using sheet clips to keep the sheet in place.

Tip #3. Skip flat sheets. Kids + flat sheets = balled up flat sheets at the foot of the bed. It never fails.

After trying unsuccessfully to teach my kids the “right” way to sleep – with the flat sheet OVER their bodies – I gave up the fight. We parents must pick our battles.

I did away with flat sheets on the kids’ beds all together and instead use a thicker, heavier cotton blanket right on top of the fitted sheet. Go ahead. Say it. Domestic rebel! I’m a happier mom because of it. Sometimes the boys sleep on top of the blanket {who am I to judge?} but when they do use it as a cover they don’t kick it off.

Tip #4. Choose a fluffy down comforter + duvet cover. It’s nearly impossible to get the outermost bedding on bunk beds perfectly smooth because you don’t have direct access to both sides of the beds. I’ve found it’s easiest to go with bedding that looks good kind of rumpled and that’s thick enough to disguise wrinkly imperfections. A down comforter inside a duvet cover fits the bill. In the winter I use a down comforter with a higher warmth rating and in the summer I use one with a lower warmth rating.

On the top bunk, I tuck the foot of the duvet first. Then I pull the duvet all the way up to the head of the bed. I tuck the wall side then the wall-free side.

On the bottom bunk, I do the same but fold the duvet back a bit just for something different.

Tip #5. Use comforter clips. A duvet cover is essentially a really big pillowcase. There’s a lot of room for the comforter to shift. I use these padded clips to hold the comforter to the duvet cover. It makes for less duvet adjustments in the morning.

Tip #6. Go easy on the pillows. One standard pillow for sleeping and one or two throw pillows are plenty.

And that’s it! Six tips for making bunk beds. None of which require an iron. Of course, you can apply these tips to regular beds as well.

I’ll be honest. I don’t make the boys’ beds everyday. Some days I ask them to make their beds themselves because it’s a chore I think they should be responsible for. But seeing as how I have a hard time making the bunk beds, you can only imagine what the beds look like after an eight-year-old and four-year-old work their magic on them. When company’s coming, I make the beds.

111 Comments

I love the concept of losing the flat sheet. Like you, I also have a boy in the house that likes to smush the sheets into a ball at the foot of his bed when he sleeps. That boy would be my husband…. I just may try a heavy blanket instead. I’m always cold at night anyway!

You are more patient than I am! I gave up the bunk beds my boys share. I like the fitted sheet clip idea though. I would love to see their beds made all the time but for now we have just a fitted sheet(you are so right about the flat sheet!) and a fluffy down comforter. I fluff the pillows and have resorted to folding the comforter and placing it at the foot of the bed. At bed time they climb in bed and I shake the comforter open and tuck them in. Once the house is finished they will have separate rooms and my youngest boy is keeping the bunk beds. We plan on adding curtains and making it fort-like. The bottom bunk might stay as a guest bed or get a little hacked and become a play area.

I like the idea of just folding the comforter at the foot of the bed! No tucking in at all! Love it! I think I’ll buy some bright colored fitted sheets and pillow cases, and let the comforter be folded. Easy-peasey!

This is great info! Thanks! My big girl (2.5yo) is in a full bed shoved in the corner of her room with a rail on the free side. Pain.in.my.tail. I won’t even say how often her bed gets made but when I wash her sheets (again… ashamed to say how often….), I try my best to tuck in the wall side of everything – sheets, blanket, quilt – as tight as I possibly can so she just rolls in from the open side… like a really big sleeping bag! This lazy mom rejoices!

Perfect timing! We have bunk beds in storage for when we need the big boy bed which is any day I’m guessing. I was wondering how the heck to make them easily because I do make everyone make their beds everyday. I am guessing (hoping) we won’t use the top bunk very often! Great hints!!! Thanks!!

My mother is basically a domestic goddess. For all my linens, she has made the sheets much longer, using broadcloth or other bed linen type fabric so that I can *really* tuck the the sheet well at the bottom, and still have TONS of room at the top to fold over the comforter. For my son’s bed and the crib bedding, she went one step further and sewed corners on the flat sheet with a pleat in the middle to keep it all roomy, so the sheets cannot become untucked. It’s glorious. Too bad I don’t know how to sew :) I also like skipping the sheet altogether, though we lived in a climate with hot humid summers, no air conditioning, and a boy who *had* to sleep under a sheet, so that was no go :)

I love it! My hubby always complains how our 8-year-old boy never uses his flat sheet and it ends up balled up at the end of his loft. I told him we should just do away with it, but he thinks the boy should learn to use it! I may have to show him your post, our boy is not alone in swimming during his sleep! And making that bed…ugh…my mom warned me because my sister had a loft. The less bedding on that bed, the better! My youngest likes to sleep on top of her bed coverings so that she doesn’t have to make the bed in the morning! She just wears warm pj’s.

In Europe they don’t use a flat sheet. Maybe it’s an American thing? I never even saw flat sheets for sale. They just use a duvet, because the cover is so much easier to wash than a comforter. In Germany (I don’t know if people do this elsewhere, well, besides me now) I saw multiple bedrooms with the bed pushed against the wall, and the duvet in a neat roll along the long side of the bed, making it sort of a day bed.

You have my 99% convinced I must do the Ikea bunkbeds for my boys. Yours looks so fabulous. Previously, I thought I would have to spend a fortune to do nice bunks. But I admit I never thought about making them.

So as soon as I saw the underside of the bunk in this post I had a flashback to my military training! Oh my…that summer where I had to get up super early and make my beds. We were inspected every morning and the bedding had to be tight. I used to crawl under even the bottom bunk to tug the sheets and blankets to make them so tight a quarter could bounce off them.

Thankfully no one will be inspecting my bunk making skills when I get them for my boys. I think I will be happy to go with the casual rumpled look :)

I love the fact that you spell the plural of “kids” properly. :-)
My boys have bunks at our summer house and I, too, skip the flat sheet. And since it’s summer, they just use a blanket, which I fold into quarters and place at the bottom of the bed. Fluff the pillows, place a cute toss pillow on each and done! The only way to do it, IMO.
This post has a lot of good tips, but it still seems like a lot of work!
I also want to know where you got your yellow shirt. :-)

I’ve hated flat sheets my whole life! No one in my house uses them. The kids don’t know any different, but my husband had to get used to it. Thank you for validating my choice! I feel even better about it now :)
PS – I totally love your house. When I first found your blog, I think I read for 2 or 3 hours straight! Thankfully, it was a Saturday and my kids were in bed…. My house is a similar size and age, but I wish it had the amazing ceiling in your main living space! Love it!

When we built our bunk beds, I ran into the same problem that you did. I ended up sewing snaps to one side of the comforter and then essentially folded and snapped it in half, so that there was no need for tucking down the sides of the bed. I found it MUCH easier to get my little guy to make his own bed this way. And when the boys need a full blanket, they can just unsnap it.

i ditched the flat sheets for my kids years ago. well, actually, i bought 2 sets of sheets for each bed, then sewed two flat sheets together to make a duvet covers. i wanted flannel, but flannel duvet covers were too expensive. this was a bargain, and since i bought 2 different colors for each bed, the duvets flip over to another color. my kids usually have another blanket under their duvets, but flat sheets are not happening at my house unless they are sewn together to make a giant pillowcase : )

This will sound crazy-anal-weird, but I have to ask you how you got the edge of your Flor tiles carpet to look so… finished! I’ve had a Flor carpet in my living room for about 5 years, and I love it (replaced 3 tiles recently after a glass-of-red-wine-in-Mama’s-hand-versus-five-year-old-boy collision). EXCEPT for the fact that the edges look kind of unfinished to me. I noticed in your “feet” photo above that yours doesn’t look like mine. So – can you share your secret?

I have no idea. I assembled it as directed and have done nothing special since. Maybe it’s the type of FLOR I have? It’s pretty low pile and tight loop but gives the wood floors just enough cushion for floor play.

I never used a flat sheet as a kid. I had crazy legs and I found I was always tangled in it and uncomfortable! I just used the comforter or duvet and washed it regularly! I only just started using a flat sheet again because I bought I white duvet cover and want it to stay clean

Oh. My. Goodness! I could have used that for the past 4 years! For the first few months, it took me 30 minutes to make the bunk beds! What a huge chore. Now, we’ve moved halfway across the country, the kids share a room with a slanted ceiling. Wha? no room for bunk beds? oh well. They are separated and they make them themselves! Yes, they change their own sheets! I help sometimes. Can I tell you how happy this makes me?!!

My girls (ages 10, 8 & 5) have triple bunk beds. Like you, we do not do top sheets, and they make their own beds.
The only tip I can give is to make your own quilts. I made quilts for the girls beds that are narrower than a normal twin. They are wide enough to overhang just enough to cover the mattress. No more tucking! :)

I hate spending money for flat sheets that I’ll never use (except for toga day at school) We’ve always been a comforter/duvet family – the easier it is to make the bed – the greater chance someone other than me will make it! Years ago, when my oldest was little I bought a fitted comforter for his twin bed – I thought it might get him in the habit of making his bed – he’s 22 now – lives away from home – and I can guarantee that he did not make his bed today…

love this…when I was a child I had to have at least four layers to sleep, fuzzy blanket, top sheet, light blanket, quilt. As a mother of four boys I’m wondering now if it is a gender thing. My husband can’t stand the quilts and usually kicks them off by morning. Top sheets on our bunk beds always end up balled at the bottom of the bed. Come to think of it the few times I dared enter my older brothers rooms before 8 they were on top of their bedding in nothing but undies. Thanks for the tips, this will make dressing our bunk beds so much easier.

Great tips! My boys (10 and 6) have the same IKEA bunks and I use duvet covers as well with a fitted sheet under and a fuzzy warm chenille like blanket from Target…I’ve given up on flat sheets for my boys beds as well as our master bed long ago….with my husband somehow kicking it to the end of the bed, it was a never ending battle so I gave up! Don’t miss them at all….all my flat sheets that have come in sheet sets have ended up being painters drop clothes or to Goodwill.

Hi Dana, love your blog btw. My husband is Swiss and they don’t use a top sheet at all. The comforter is simply folded in 1/2 or 1/3’s and left in a sort of flat roll on top of the bed. So easy. Super quick.

My kids don’t use top sheets, either. It’s the same thing. They kick them to the end of the bed or onto the floor. I’ve stopped using them on their beds, too. Thankfully, they each have their own room now so we no longer have bunk beds. They were, indeed, very difficult to make. These are great tips for bunk beds or singles, though. I’ve never seen those duvet clips but I may have to investigate.

I made bunk beds for years. No top sheets- we went euro. I use the “burrito method” to stuff the duvet cover (google it – it seriously changed my life!). Also i sewed bias tape or ribbon on the corners of the duvet and the inside corners of the cover. Tie them together before stuffing and no shifting. Iend up kudt lifting the corner of the mattress to get the sheet on rhe top bunk, it takes practice but i found that worked the best for me and we had no problems with sheets coming off.

The beds look great. And hooray for no top sheet. My son was probably 3yo before he would sleep with anything over him, and then it was a very soft, fuzzy blanket. Can I ask where you got those striped duvet covers?

Love this post. I just decorated a home for two boys sharing bunks. Yes, it is a challenge to make their beds. I went with simple fleece blankets instead of duvets. It seems to work! Quick question, who is the manufacturer of the fan? It looks liked he blades are inside? That is the only thing I still need to fix in the room. I’ve got to take down the existing ceiling fan, wouldn’t want someone decapitated!!!

Just gave my daughters (11 & 14) new linens. They asked to use the top sheets, which surprised me, we’ll see what happens when they get up this morning.

The husband prefers to sleep on top of whatever is on his bed; I prefer to sleep under, and therein lies a problem. So we have two queen beds. Tried duvets, but the husband was almost eaten up. By morning there was a large man and a large impossible rumpled heap of linens. We had used comforters previously but sleeping on top of pretty comforters wears them out pretty fast. So we have gone back to blankets, two each. I use a top sheet, he has none. I have a big throw pillow (handy if I’m reading in bed) and an afghan folded at the foot for looks. We’re not matchy-matchy but it works.

Amen on the “no flat sheets” rule. My boys are 20 and 22 and they still don’t sleep with a flat sheet. At this point it’s more that they are tall (6’3” and 6’4”) and the tucked in sheet confines their feet too much. DH is also tall (6’6”) but I don’t tuck in the flat sheet so that his feet can move and it works out fine.

I laughed at the first few lines of this post, because my girls have daybeds and I sweat when I make those beds too!!!!!! I love the fact that they sit against the wall and allow more play-space – and I know that part of the problem is that I like the blankets and sheets folded down at the top – but I guess it just makes me feel better to know that I am not alone!
Love the stripes – you are on fire with the paintbrush these days, girl!!!
Leah: )

This is so funny. I was just thinking about how hard it is to make these beds when I was changing out the sheets on my boys ikea bunk yesterday. Then I realized the matress’ are light enough to where I can kinda make the bead by just lifting up the matresses whilst standing (kinda) underneath them….that really doesn’t make much sense ha! I would say just buy lighter weight matresses so you can lift them easiser from below. Just receently discovered and Love your blog. My boy’s room is here: We are definitely on the same wave length I think ;)

Finding fitted sheets sold individually can be a challenge. I purchase mine at Target. I stopped using flat sheets when my children were young. Not worth the extra time it took to make it nice and smooth. I remember my grandma and mother ironing their sheets. We’ve come a long way, Baby!

Hey! Just curious about the duvet inserts. I am definitely interested in trying duvets for my kids beds but I am wondering if all the inserts at ikea will fill out the duvet cover. I live in the South and definitely don’t need anything too warm. Wondering if the less expensive ones will be full enough to make the duvet cover look good. I’ve never used them before and I will have to order online since the nearest IKEA is hours away!! :) Thanks! Haley

Well, you don’t have to do that! If you think it looks okay I believe you! :) But, could you tell which of the summer inserts you use? There were a lot to choose from on the website. Thanks a bunch! Haley